Zynga And EA Lawsuit Battle Gets Settled Out Of Court

EA’s lawsuit battle with Zynga got settled out of court. The publishing giant sued the casual games behemoth because of their release of The Ville which EA claims have infringed on Maxis’ property by copying elements of The Sims.

EA filed an official complaint stating that Zynga had “wilfully and intentionally copied and misappropriated the original and distinctive expressive elements of The Sims Social in a violation of U.S. copyright laws.”

Zynga has a bad reputation for ripping off games in the past, and it is no secret that it borrows heavily to make copycat games. EA, on the other hand, is not exactly an angel either in public opinion.

Zynga originally brushed off EA’s complaint by claiming that they had no merit EA’s actions were “anti-competitive and unlawful business practices, including legal threats and demands for no-hire agreements”.

EA made some jabs at Zynga’s financial situation, and Zynga defended itself by excusing the copied elements as common elements belonging to the genre rather than to EA. After all the heated arguments it turned out that Zynga and EA decided on an agreement out of court.

According to Northern District of California court filings, both parties will have to pay the legal fees, and the case will be dismissed with prejudice meaning that it won’t be opened again.